Automated airport baggage handling systems and equipment are used for handling of airport baggage at airports. Such systems are among others used to transport, distribute and possibly store baggage going in or out of the airport.
Typically, new, as well as existing, systems experience disadvantages related to their capacity, availability, cost and/or transit time and/or an average transport and/or retrieval period for a given baggage article and/or space requirements and/or various disadvantages when seen from a user perspective. In particular, for both new and existing solutions, improving one of these factors often has a too high and non-beneficial impact on one or more of the other factors.
When one or more baggage pieces arrive at an airport with an incoming aircraft they must be given back to, and thus claimed by, their one or more owners. Present systems for this task include so-called baggage claim carousels placed at an aircraft baggage claim area of the airport. Baggage pieces are unloaded from the airplane and typically put onto a conveyor at the airside of the airport by airport personnel. From here, the baggage is moved to a given baggage claim carousel provided at the aircraft baggage claim area of the airport, where it recirculates until someone removes the baggage from the baggage claim carousel and hereby claims the baggage.
When an airplane passenger who has previously checked in one or more pieces of aircraft baggage arrives at an airport with an aircraft, the passenger tends to hurry to a baggage claim carousel, which is dedicated baggage from the flight that the passenger arrived with. Reasons for this may be a typical wish of the passengers to retrieve their baggage quickly, so as to be able to attend following tasks quickly, such as shopping or exiting the airport. The one or more passengers sometimes try to keep speed with a group of other passengers from the same flight, possibly to try to assure that no one else by mistake claims baggage not belonging to them.
Upon arriving at the baggage claim carousel dedicated a given aircraft, most passengers are willing to and/or tend to wait at the carousel, and at a position where a border between the airside and the aircraft baggage claim area of the airport, and i.e. where the baggage pieces appear at first in the aircraft baggage claim area, can be monitored.
Other passengers are willing to or tend to position themselves where a first part of the baggage reclaim carousel can be monitored. Some passengers tend to want to position themselves as close to such position or border as possible.
When a passenger sees what appears to be hers or his baggage, some passengers walk or run in a direction towards the baggage, and sometimes, in a direction where most people are placed, in order to retrieve what may or may not be their baggage. This happens while the baggage is travelling on the baggage belt, and sometimes even while the passenger or one or more other passengers try to walk along, or even on, the baggage claim carousel. At the same time and while walking or even running towards the baggage, the passenger tries to figure out if the baggage seen is the correct baggage or not. In such situations, track of which other baggage pieces enter the carousel, or which baggage is removed from the carousel, can be lost, both for the given passenger, but e.g. also for other passengers who have to make space for the passenger moving towards what appears to be his or hers baggage.
Other situations possibly also leading to unfortunate user experiences may occur, such as passengers stepping over toes of other passengers when walking along the baggage claim carousel, e.g. when trying to drag their baggage from the carousel. Another example is passengers not being able to grip their baggage at a first pass of the baggage, and choosing to wait for the next pass of the baggage, or having to go to the other side of the carousel to get it, etc.
Still further, baggage may be removed from or put back by passengers on the baggage claim carousel in a rather fast and possibly also somewhat non-careful manner. It may be found that removal and/or putting baggage back on the carousel is carried out somewhat carelessly when seen from the view of the passengers waiting at the carousel, but additionally or alternatively also in terms of what typical baggage carousels or baggage pieces then must be capable of being subject to without being damaged.
Thus, the process of a passenger claiming checked in baggage, i.e. in a period after a passenger enters an airport with an aircraft, and until the passenger has retrieved aircraft baggage belonging to the passenger, may suffer from one or more of the described disadvantages.
Thus, it has been appreciated that an improved method for handling aircraft baggage and for letting aircraft passengers claim their aircraft baggage is of benefit, and in consequence the present invention has been devised.